Harbaugh: “Slow time in the media cycle” led to Kaepernick cap flap

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 22, 2013, 7:05 PM EDT

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One of the most-discussed topics in the NFL this month has been 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick wearing a Dolphins hat. Kaepernick’s coach says that just shows how slow things are in the NFL in July.

Harbaugh told reporters today that he doesn’t have any concerns about Kaepernick’s loyalty to the 49ers, even though some fans and media members questioned what he was doing wearing another team’s colors.

“I know Kap, and I know where his allegiances lie. They lie with us. I chalk that [controversy] up to a slow time in the media cycle,” Harbaugh said, via the San Jose Mercury-News.

No one doubts that Kaepernick’s allegiances are with the 49ers, and the criticisms Kaepernick took weren’t about having some kind of dual loyalty with the Dolphins. The criticisms were more about whether the best way to be the face of your franchise is to put another franchise’s logo on your head.

But Harbaugh is right that the controversy hit in the slowest time of the year in the NFL. Thankfully, with training camps opening this week, we have real football to talk about now.

I’m sorry but i’m not sure why some people want to minimize the story. It would really tick me off to be a fan of a team and invest so much time and money into following them and then have the QB throw on some other teams hat just to be ‘fashionable’.

No, Kaepernick didn’t kill anyone or get a DUI; that’s great. Still a pretty classless maneuver to sport another teams colors, and then upload pictures of yourself doing it.

People saying it’s an overblown story? I personally don’t think he’s getting enough heat for it. That’s a crappy thing to do to your teams fans and just says you don’t really care.

Yeah … and that dude really did fail his physical today … and the offense really will be fine without Crabtree … and it was a mere coincidence that little Smith stunk last year the minute that big Smith got hurt … and I’m not scared out of my mind about that week 2 matchup … and there is this gorgeous golden bridge that you can purchase …

The Kaep Cap Flap happened because Kaep wore the cap of a team that he doesn’t play for. It’s akin to the stories for last year about RG3 wearing clothing from a sponsor other than Nike. It really has nothing to do with this being “a slow news day”. The story would have been even bigger if it had happened during the season.

The response from Harbaugh is worse than what Kaep did. He didn’t make a professional statement that intelligently addresses the matter. Kaep is young and immature and he lacks the support and mentorship from professionals that should be there to help him, that’s his excuse, but Harbaugh shouldn’t be entitled to one. This is embarrassing for the 49ers.

If anybody can ruin Colin Kaepernick, it’s Jim Harbaugh. Already several miscues in handling this player and the team’s QB position as a whole, and now he’s making more voluntary mistakes.

It’s all about keeping up appearances for guys like Kap. It used to be [still is, really] Yankees hats and now, thanks to LeBron, Miami is the hot new thing. That being said, he should’ve just worn a Heat cap.

To all the haters who can keep watching the niners win the division every year! and go to the playoffs…its the niners time! nobody wants to be a seattle fan!!! that’s why kapp sales more jerseys than any other player… 49ers are here to stay! all the other teams keep dreaming .,,,,,looooolllll

Did it upset me? No. But it’s just another thing that rubs me the wrong way about Kaepernick outside of the game. Great talent, great work ethic, and he seems like a pretty good guy, but he really doesn’t represent himself very well. Although Alex Smith isn’t as physically gifted as Colin Kaepernick, I really admired the way he represented himself as our QB and how he embraced the Bay Area as his home – not because he was worried about his image, but because he had always did what he thought was the right thing to do. For me, this whole cap jncident is more about Kaep needing to mature a little and just show better judgment.

Sorry captain blowhole but you can’t sweep it under the carpet. You can’t have your field general parading around in enemy attire … unless he’s a spy of course. So people would be ok with Derek Jeter cruising NYC and Twitter with a Red Sox cap on?

If he were a 3rd string QB he would have been cut. If he were Jay Cutler they would still be taking about it regardless of when it happened. Kaepernick is none of those, he’s a Super Bowl starting QB, not to mention it was stupid and kind of weird on his part.

Red Sox and Yankees are one of, if not, the biggest rivalries in sports. Dolphins/9ers, not so much. Terrible analogy. Those saying Kap is lacking off the field should do some research. Maybe it wasn’t the best move, but it is in no way an indictment of his character. Just live your life and don’t let minuscule matters get you in a bad way.

probably would have have been smarter to wear a KC hat… when he starts to struggle and the fans call for Colt McCoy it will be better than having Smith sit on the bench with a smirk telling everyone “told ya so”

It may have been a slow time in the media cycle but Kaepernick should have shown a higher standard of decorum in his decision. After all, he is very quickly becoming the face of the 49ers for what could be quite some time…

Niner fans should be far more concerned or rather upset with Ahmad Brooks clocking his team mate with a beer bottle. He should be super happy he escaped prosecution. Never should’ve put himself in that situation. Outrage for Brooks situation barely even registered. local talk radio talked about the cap flap for days, barely a blip about Brooks.

I wonder what would’ve happen if he was sporting an Oakland Athletics cap instead of a SF Giants cap(even though they are stinking it up).

Who cares. No one but San Fran fans care about the Niners. As a matter of fact, no one but San Fran fans like the Niners. Probably the most hated team and coach in the game, so quit posting about them.

Smoke and Mirrors Harbaugh! He has wasted your chance 49er fans. His brother has shown for how many year that Him is and has always been just off enough. Follow his history and at every level and step of the way he has fail(almost won).
Your team WAS scary however all you did was piss off that team north of you. Is 8-8 enough reason to call for his job? 2 years of this? The time has arrived for the smoke to clear and Jimmy to run home to mommy again.
Just the truth(sayin)! Go Cowboys!

Seattle hags give it a rest you losers! For the love of God you beat the 49ers once out of the last four games & I think the last time you won the division it was that epic 7-9 season. So stick to what you guys do best and that’s lose.
Go 9ers the reigning NFC & NFC West Champions!

Also looks like the Lionsdraftdouche changed his handle to prettyflyforawhiteguy keep on keepin on you dork.

I think all of the class talk on this forum is pretty funny. This is the nfl, not a junior high school baseball game where every kid gets to bat. I for one am a good dude, but when I go to the game I don’t really put myself in the classy catagory. This is football, I’m spilling beer on myself screaming, and cussing at the guy wearing a broncos jersey as he returns from taking a leak.

I’m a life-long Niner fan. And I’m usually the type of crabby old guy that is annoyed by things like this. But this non-controversy didn’t really bother me. I might feel differently if it was a rival team, like the Raiders or Seahawks. But come on…does anyone really hate the Dolphins?

And all the guys who said, “If it was MY team’s quarterback I’d be livid!” Nah…you like your guy. You’d give him a pass just like I am.

yep Kap is such a great QB, never heard this story before. Just like Mike Vick would revolutionize the QB position…nope. Likewise with Vince Young, Cam Newton, and eventually RG3. Bottom line inthe NFL is and always will be the ability to drop back and look off your 1st, 2nd and 3rd options and easily complete it to your 4th option via reading schemes and defenses. Not drop back, your #1 option is covered so you take off running. Or this spread option college offense garbage in the NFL. the speed of pro players and schemes will ALWAYS catch up to the phony QBs that cant be a pocket QB. Watch

I don’t get the Seattle Seahawk fans, both franchises have 14 wins against each other since the Seahawks joined the NFC West. Before then they where the laughing stock of the AFC West since 1976. Their 2 best seasons during that time where in 1984 they went 12-4 and in 1986 where they went 10-6. Steve Largent was the only reason why that happened. He set the standard on what a WR should be until the G.O.A.T. Jerry Rice #Flash80. The Seattle Seahawks have had double digit wins season 6 times. The stats for the franchise are as follows:

Since 1976 the S.F. 49ers have had 21 seasons of double digit wins. Too many HoF’s to list. Great Coaches as well. By the way, Seattles’ most winningest coach learned from who? Oh yea, the architect of the West Coach offense, Bill Walsh.

Long time hawks fan here. Was it a bad choice? Yes. I don’t think the slow news week is what made this a story, it was simply his reaction to it. BUT, to say this kid isn’t the real deal is ridiculous. The kid can play. Period. The NFC West is gonna be nuts this year. I can’t wait. Go Hawks!

A slow news time? You got teammates busting bottles over the heads of other teammates. You got an NFL player in jail for 1 murder and under investigation for more.You’ve got multiple players wearing Free Hernendez Hats. You’ve got player suspensions and arrests out the ying yang and you call this slow news? So if he wore this hat on opening day when it really should be busy news wise, then it would not be mentioned. I get it now.

Wow,wow,wow I can’t believe how jelous Seattle fans our,you guys want to be us and have our trophies our qb who is better than yours. Sorry but more talented bigger,stronger & faster plus check stats more accurate. More explosive plays. Anyway you are taking someone wearing a hat to the extreme. How about you worry about your teams drug problem that actually affects the game not a hat. How about you fix your problems than talk about ours.

These guys are loyal only to the almighty dollar. If you think they have an allegiance to the team they are playing for, you are sadly mistaken. It is very rare that a player takes less money to stay on his original team. They are fans of the game, just like you and me, but it is still a business to them. So he is a fan of the Fins, so what. You can bet though, that he as well as everyone else gives their all no matter what team they play for. (Randy Moss excepted.) They are competitive and want to win, no matter what team they play for, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a favorite team.

After reading some of these post and I do agree as a die hard niners fan I’ve haven’t even thought about putting another teams colors me. It does kinda puss you off but if u read that letter from when he was 10 and he said “he hopes when he grows up that he would play for the niners or packers.” He clearly a niners or packers faithful and you see that based on where he lived. Atleast he not cam newton and saying his favorite team is Atlanta. I chalk it up to youth and agreed with the slow time in media during July. So excited to see what this talented kid can do as the starter for a whole season.

gslumbers says: “Kap seems to have some talent, but it’s all on the field. Not much between his ears.”

Kaepernick wonderlic score: 37

Kaepernick G.P.A.: 4.0

He freely admits that he’s got a bad case of O.C.D. The hat colors matched the shoes. That’s all there is to it. You drama queens can get your panties in a bunch all you like, but that’s all there is to it.

Colin hasn’t played a full season yet. Great for half a season– and a bust in year two.

Flash and Tattoos are tools for attention seeking will get old very fast when you lose. Wilson and the Seahawks are going to destroy this team this season(Wilson and the Hawks already destroyed Kaep last season) the 49ers will not win the division and Colt Mc Coy will be starting at week 6.